21 and Up: Has the Same Darnold Era Officially Ignited a Jets Rise

After 10 seconds into the game last night, every J-E-T-S fan muttered the same four words.

“Here we go again.”

Going into the matchup vs. the Detroit Lions, Jets fans were optimistic and who could fault them? They had their guy. Starting at Quarterback was the 21 year old former USC Trojan that they traded up to bring to NY. Sam Darnold was brought in to be the answer to Jets insufferable last few years of football and fans were on board.

Then, like a scripted NY Jet quarterback, he threw a pick-6.

Their savior on the very first play of the game rolled out to his right only to throw across his body and field on a very questionable play call for the rookie. It was happening again. Another washed up talent, another washed up season, and more devastation for the fans.

Down 7 to 0 after the very first play of the game, Darnold trotted off the field and things looked like they were about to get out of hand quick for NY.

There was a brighter side to all of this. While at the time, even after one play it seemed as though everyone wrote off the Jets for the season, this young Quarterback got some comforting news. There was another Quarterback who threw a pick-6 his very first play as well, and his name was Brett Favre.

Armed with this newfound confidence, Sam brought his team onto the field for a second time and marched down the field for a score. This was it, this was what the front office hoped for when they selected same 3rd overall.

And then they scored again.

And again.

And then the defense scored, and the special teams.

What was happening. After years of losing with the butt fumble being the quintessential moment of embarrassment for the franchise, Sam Darnold and the Jets looked at thought they have finally turned a leaf. This game was like nothing else these fans have seen in a while. Ending in a final score of Jets- 48 Lions-17, there is finally some hope in NY!

I was in awe of the performance last night and it was one of those games that felt like something special was taking place. I hope that is the case. As a NY Giants fan, its nice to sometimes root for the ugly stepchild in the NY Jets. However, I do want to remind everyone that this was ONE GAME. This was one game, against a Detroit Lions team that played terribly.

As much as I hope this continues because I like to see younger players do well. I urge the Jets fan to not get too high on there horses here. He is still a young quarterback who was known for making plenty of mistakes at USC.

While last night was a moment Sam Darnold will never forget. There are 15 games left in the season, lets give the rookie some time before we tout him as the next John Elway and the Jets as the surprise team of the league. As the saying I just made up goes: “The Jets will Jet.”